Search Engine Advertising

SEA
• Search engine advertising (SEA) is an online marketing tool that can
be used by businesses to increase their exposure and sales.
• Search engine advertising is a form of online advertising that allows
businesses to place ads on search engine results pages (SERPs) for
specific keywords or phrases related to their products or services.
• This form of advertising is also known as pay-per-click (PPC)
advertising, as businesses only pay when someone clicks on their ad.
The benefits of search engine advertising:
• Search engine advertising can help businesses increase their visibility,
drive more traffic to their website, and reach their target audience
more effectively.
How search engine advertising works:
• When someone searches for a keyword or phrase related to a
business's products or services, the search engine displays relevant ads
at the top or bottom of the search results page.
• These ads are typically marked as "sponsored" or "ad" to indicate that
they are paid ads.
The importance of keyword research:
• Keyword research is a crucial part of search engine advertising, as
businesses need to choose the right keywords to target in order to
reach their desired audience.
• Tools like Google's Keyword Planner can help businesses identify
relevant keywords and estimate their potential traffic and cost.
Ad targeting options:
• Search engine advertising platforms like Google Ads offer various
targeting options, such as geographic targeting, device targeting, and
audience targeting, which can help businesses reach their desired
audience more effectively.
Best practices for search engine advertising:
• Some best practices for search engine advertising include creating
compelling ad copy, using relevant keywords, testing different ad
formats and targeting options, and tracking and analyzing campaign
performance to optimize results.
Creating First Ad Campaign
1. Define your campaign goals: Before creating your ad campaign, you need to have a clear
understanding of what you want to achieve. Are you looking to drive traffic to your website, increase
sales, or build brand awareness? Your campaign goals will inform the rest of your campaign strategy.
2. Choose your advertising platform: There are many advertising platforms to choose from, such as
Google Ads, Facebook Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and more. Choose the platform that aligns with your
campaign goals and target audience.
3. Define your target audience: Identify the audience you want to reach with your ad campaign.
Consider factors such as age, gender, location, interests, and behaviors.
4. Select your ad format: Depending on the platform you choose, there may be multiple ad formats to
choose from. Some common formats include text ads, image ads, video ads, and carousel ads.
5. Create your ad copy and visuals: Your ad copy and visuals should be attention-grabbing and align
with your campaign goals and target audience. Make sure to follow the platform's ad guidelines.
6. Set your budget and bid strategy: Determine how much you are willing to spend on your ad
campaign and how you want to bid for ad placement. Some platforms offer different bidding options,
such as cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM).
7. Launch your campaign: Once you have everything set up, it's time to launch your ad campaign!
Keep an eye on your campaign performance and make adjustments as needed to optimize your
results.
Enhancing ad campaigns
Enhancing your ad campaigns is an ongoing process that involves monitoring and optimizing your
campaigns to improve their performance. Here are some tips to help enhance your ad campaigns:
1. Use data to inform your decisions: Analyze your campaign data regularly to identify trends, patterns,
and areas for improvement. Use data to adjust your targeting, bidding, ad copy, and visuals.
2. Test different strategies: Experiment with different ad formats, targeting options, bidding strategies,
and landing pages to see what works best for your campaign goals and audience. A/B testing can help
you compare different variables and determine what is most effective.
3. Optimize your ad copy and visuals: Make sure your ad copy and visuals are compelling, relevant,
and aligned with your campaign goals. Use strong calls to action, highlight unique selling points, and
include relevant keywords.
4. Improve your landing pages: Your landing page is where users will go after clicking on your ad, so
make sure it is optimized for conversions. Ensure that the landing page is relevant to the ad, loads
quickly, and has a clear call to action.
5. Utilize remarketing: Remarketing allows you to target users who have already interacted with your
brand or website. Create remarketing campaigns to re-engage users and encourage them to take action.
6. Stay up-to-date with platform changes: Advertising platforms are constantly evolving, so make sure
to stay informed about new features, updates, and best practices. This can help you take advantage of
new opportunities and avoid potential pitfalls.
7. Monitor your competitors: Keep an eye on your competitors' ad campaigns to see what they are
doing well and what you can learn from their strategies.
Google AdSense

Google AdSense is an advertising program created by Google that allows website owners
to monetize their website traffic by displaying ads on their website.
The program works by allowing website owners to place ad code on their website, which
then displays relevant ads to visitors based on the website's content and the user's interests.
When a user clicks on one of the ads, the website owner earns a commission from Google.
 Google AdSense
• AdSense offers several different ad formats, including display ads, text
ads, link units, and matched content, which allows website owners to
choose the ad format that best suits their website's layout and content.
• To get started with AdSense, website owners need to apply for an
AdSense account and have their website approved by Google.
• Once approved, they can then customize the ad settings to match their
website's style and choose which ad formats they want to display.
Google AdSense
• AdSense also offers several optimization features, such as ad
placement suggestions, ad balance options, and automated ad sizing,
which can help website owners maximize their ad revenue and
improve the user experience on their website.
• Overall, AdSense is a popular and effective way for website owners to
monetize their website traffic and earn revenue from their online
content.
• However, it's important to follow Google's policies and guidelines to
ensure that your website and ad placements comply with their rules
and regulations.
What is SEO?

• Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of trying to rank in a

search engine’s organic results. It involves four main steps:
• Keyword research – Find what people are searching for
• On-page SEO – Craft content for searchers
• Off-page SEO – Build trust and authority from other websites
• Technical SEO – Ensure search engines can find, crawl and index
your content
Keyword research
• Keyword research is about understanding the words and phrases your
customers type into search engines.
• You can do this with keyword research tools like Ahrefs’
Keywords Explorer.
On-page SEO
• On-page SEO is about crafting the kind of content that searchers want to see. How you do this depends
on the keyword you’re targeting.
• For example, people searching for “seo vs sem” want to learn. They want an article explaining key
differences. You can tell from the organic search results.
People searching for “baby clothes” want to shop. They want
e-commerce results.
Again, we can tell from the organic results:

Giving searchers what they want is known as aligning your content with search intent.
But search intent isn’t the only thing that matters for on-page SEO. Other important factors include these:
•Strategically placing keywords
•Crafting a compelling title
•Using descriptive URLs
•Optimizing images
Off-page SEO
• Off-page SEO is where you do things outside your site to show Google that your pages deserve to rank.
• Building high-quality backlinks is the most effective off-page SEO task because backlinks are one of
Google’s top three ranking factors. They act like votes from other websites.
• For example, let’s say this article gets backlinks from other popular websites about SEO. This shows
Google that others in the industry are vouching for our content, which may indicate that it deserves
to rank.
• You can see who’s linking to any page in the Backlinks report in Ahrefs’ Site Explorer.

Links aren’t the only important off-page factor. Things

like reviews may also play a role.
Technical SEO
• Technical SEO is all about making sure search engines can find, crawl, and index your content. You’re
unlikely to rank unless search engines can do all three of these things.
• Here’s a flowchart to explain:

For example, let’s say we blocked search engines from crawling

this article.
This would stop them from seeing what’s on the page and make
it harder for them to understand what it should rank for.
As a result, it probably wouldn’t rank for anything.
 What is PPC?
• PPC (pay-per-click) is a form of advertising where you pay for
website clicks from popular platforms. In the case of SEM, from
search engines like Google.
• For example, clicking this ad in Google costs Apple money:
Here’s what PPC advertising in Google involves:
•Keyword research – Find what your customers are searching
for
•Bid setting – Decide how much you want to pay for a click
•Ad creation – Create a compelling and relevant ad
•Audience targeting – Choose who should see your ad
Keyword research
Keyword research for Google Ads is not only about finding what customers are searching for. It’s also about
researching how much ads are likely to cost, which varies by keyword.
For example, the average cost per click (CPC) for “baby clothes” is more than double that of “cute baby girl
clothes”:
 Bid setting
• Bid setting is where you decide how much you’re willing to pay
Google for an ad click. If competitors outbid you and have equally (or
more) relevant ads, Google won’t show your ad much and you won’t
get many clicks.

Audience targeting
Audience targeting is where you decide who should see your ad. You can target people based on who they are, what
they’re interested in, where they are, and much more. Here’s more information about audience targeting from
Google.
Ad creation
• Ad creation is where you decide what your ad will say and where it
will send people.
• For example, this ad takes searchers to our Site Audit landing page:

Google gives your ad a Quality Score, which tells you how relevant and useful your ad is.
On the whole, ads with high Quality Scores are seen by more people, and they pay less for clicks.
Here’s some advice on improving your Quality Score from Google.